Japan Sends Its Troops Into Uncharted Waters

Japanese Ground Self Defense Force divers leap from a GSDF helicopter during a training exercise off the California coast last week. Troops from all three of Japan’s armed services are training with the U.S. Navy and Marines for amphibious warfare.

TOKYO – A major amphibious warfare exercise off the California coast is not intended as a dress rehearsal for combat in the Japanese islands — but it could work out that way.

For the first time, troops from all three Japanese armed services are practicing how to seize and defend remote islands, and conduct combat operations in close coordination with the U.S. Navy and Marines. It is the latest, biggest – and potentially most troubling — step in expanding the roles and missions of the Japanese Self Defense Force since China began aggressively pressing claims on Japanese administered islands in 2010.

Japan has sent three large warships and some 250 ground troops to take part in Dawn Blitz 2013, which officially kicked off this week. The exercise includes some 5,000 troops – mostly U.S. Marines and sailors, but a small number of ships and soldiers from Canada and New Zealand, as well. Seven other countries, including Australia and Singapore, have sent observers.

The exercise is part of the U.S. pivot, or re-balance, to the Asia-Pacific region. The host unit is the California-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was activated in late 2009. It is designed to bridge the gap in size between Marine expeditionary units – which comprise about 2,200 troops – and Marine expeditionary forces, which can include as many as 50,000. All three groups are designed to deploy quickly to overseas battlefields and – being Marines — to fight their way ashore, if necessary.

Although Dawn Blitz has been held annually since 2010, this year’s exercise was re-organized in recent months to accommodate a larger and more ambitious Japanese role. Japan Ground Self Defense Force troops will practice beach landings, helicopter and small-boat raids, conduct live-fire and mock warfare exercises (against Marines), and train for a variety of other tasks related to fighting from the sea.

For the first time, Japan Ground Self Defense Force helicopters will operate from Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ship, and ground troops will call for live gunfire from ships offshore – a more dangerous and difficult task than it might appear.

In another first, Marine V-22 Ospreys will practice landings and takeoffs from the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga, a carrier-like vessel designed for anti-submarine warfare, but adaptable for other missions, as well. For both the Japanese and Americans, learning how to function as a single team is another goal of the exercise.

“The very first landing of an MV-22 Osprey on a Japanese ship is a historic moment,” said Brig. Gen. John Broadmeadow, the 1st MEB commander, in a statement this week.

The Japan Air Self Defense Force sent several observers and liaison officers to Dawn Blitz 2013, though not any warplanes. That’s partly because of logistical challenges, and partly because learning how to drop bombs near ground troops was seen as one task too many this time around.

(How difficult is “close-air support”? To keep from hitting their own troops, the Marines take highly-trained fighter pilots off flight duty for a year or more and assign them to ground units, for the sole purpose of calling in air strikes. It’s not clear whether Japanese fighter jocks will rush to sign up if they are asked to do the same.)

The exercise has not gone unnoticed in China, which harbors bitter memories of Japanese occupation during World War II and views any increase in defense capabilities as evidence of a return of Japanese militarism. According to the Kyodo news service, Beijing asked Japan to cancel its participation in Dawn Blitz, but was told No.

Japan likewise views with suspicion China’s growing military power and territorial ambitions. Chinese government patrol boats have sailed in or near Japanese-administered waters around the Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu, almost daily since December.

A PLA Navy warship locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer in international waters near those islands earlier this year; no shots were fired, but the incident demonstrated the risks. Japanese leaders increasingly have asked how Japan, with little equipment or expertise in amphibious warfare, would respond if China were to seize one of Japan’s thousands of remote islands.

The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty obligates the United States to respond of Japanese-administered territory comes under attack, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would take the lead in any islands crisis.

Until recently, there’s been little need for the Japanese armed services to work together, particularly in amphibious warfare. The current interpretation of Japan’s pacifist constitution forbids offensive operations, and the air, ground and maritime forces generally have operated alone, with strictly defensive and carefully separated responsibilities.

At least some of that will have to change if Japan wants to succeed at amphibious warfare. Soldiers will have to learn how to live aboard ships and protect their equipment from salt air; sailors must to learn to maneuver their ships in shallow water and fire at shifting targets ashore; pilots will have to sacrifice the thrill and glamour of air-to-air combat for the dirty work of flying low and slow, searching for targets on the ground.

All of that is in U.S. national interests, says Jason Wheelock, a Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi International Affairs Fellow in Japan.

“For the first time, the Ground Self Defense Forces and the Maritime Self Defense Forces will be practicing what they call ‘joint fires,” says Wheelock, who is also a visiting fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo. “That’s a key evolution and if they can get this right, I personally would like to see Japan taking a larger role in providing and actually exporting security in the region and allowing the U.S. to maybe array its forces around Japanese forces… that would be a better use of scarce defense resources.”

Spitzer is a veteran journalist and defense correspondent, based in Tokyo. He has covered nearly every major U.S. military deployment since Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm and has made more than a dozen reporting trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.

A necessary move. China is by far the biggest threat to stability in the Far East because of their challenges to microscopic island properties. We really can't understand the reasons for these skirmishes but rest assured a small encounter can lead to some horrible consequences. Japan must defend itself. Yes, Japan committed horrible war time atrocities in China. There is no doubt at all. But they still have to defend themselves. it can't be the US. History moves forward not backward. It was what it was, is what it is, and will be what it will be. Preparation is necessary.

JAPAN .....PUNISHED BY THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION INTITUTED BY MAC ARTHUR AFTER WW2......FORBIDS JAPAN TO WAGE WAR OUTSIDE IT'S VBORDERS.......THIS IS DUE TO THE PAST HISTORY OF JAPAN UP TO THAT TIME.......THAT GENERATION IS DEAD ........NOW......CHINA.....THE CHINESE EMPIRE IF I MAY......IS FLESING IT'S MUSCLE ON JAPAN AND THE WHOLE SOUTHEAST ASIA.....THEN THE WORLD.......

THE NEW GENERATION OF JAPANESE IS NOT THE MEN OF OLD......THAY ARE MORE WEANED ON KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, STARBUCKS AND MACDONALDS ETC.......IT IS TIME TO SEE.......IF THE NEW SAMURAI WILL HAVE THE BALS OF THE OLD......TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM CHINA......THE CHINESE EMPIRE OF TODAY.....

OH.....I FORGOT ......NORTH KOREA TOO.....

VALENTINE, WORLD HISTORIAN, MILITARY HISTORIAN, POLITICAL HISTORAN , COMEDIAN.....LOL....

Why are we supporting Japan against China? We are only supposed to protect them if they are attacked. The Japanese committed many atrocities against China in WW2. We need to get back to the business of doing business. China has a huge market for American goods; however, the Japanese, Germany, and countless other Euro nations are selling their goods there while we are playing the chumps. You can count the number of American cars sold there on one hand while there are hundreds of thousands of KIAs, Mercedes, and etc....

Japanese have enshrined people who murdered, raped and mutilated women and children...they deny their history...the current president said Japan did nothing wrong and questioned the term invasion...Tokyo mayor nationalized the islands which caused upset in China...the Osakan mayor's comments on comfort women...not only insulting to the Korean and Chinese women but all women...America needs to be careful about getting itself too close to an ultra-nationalist and miltiaristic Japan...dont forget your past America!

The Americans think only war and never have a strategy for peace. China has destroyed manufacturing right across North America. Let's have a trade war and as a collateral effort many territorial disputes could be brought to the table.

World War II ended more than 65 years ago. Japan and Germany have been close U.S. allies since then. There is NO REASON that both countries SHOULD NOT HAVE robust, capable militaries with the capacity for offensive operations, AS DO U.S. allies, Great Britain, France, and others. For TOO LONG the burden of the military defense of Japan and German has fallen on U.S. taxpayers, and U.S. military personnel.

We have conducted war games with the Japanese Self-Defense Force for many years, this is simply the first time it has taken place on US soil. It is not a big deal and considering there is a chance we could be fighting side by side with Japan at some point in the future these practice sessions are a good idea.

By the way, the international incidents in the region are
all connected.What we are seeing is a
new cold war develop.First, Japan’s
right-leaning actions stem directly from China’s aggressive territorial
expansion.To clarify, Japan does not
have a military because it is prohibited by its constitution.The “Self Defense Force” is actually an
extension of its police force, and conducting military operations overseas is
illegal.The right in Japan claim that
since every other nation has a military, Japan not having a military does not
put Japan on level playing field with other nations, therefore the constitution
has to be amended to allow a legal military (no other nation has outlawed its
own military other than Japan).Also,
since performing military operations overseas is currently illegal, it cannot
even participate in mutual defense (coming to the aid militarily for its
allies)

The recent events with North Korea come directly from
China.North Korea can’t even breathe
without China because it is completely dependent on China for its very existence.The more North Korea blows air about Nukes
and attacking America gives China a bigger card to use with the US at the
diplomatic table.The recent visit by Xi
Jinping, China’s leader was basically bought by using this card as well as
stating they are leaving the senkaku/diaoyu island alone for the time being. The reason for this visit was in response to
Japan’s diplomatic actions with the surrounding countries.Japan’s Prime Minister Abe had visited the
heads of state of many nations surrounding China and began creating economic
agreements or cooperation about territorial disputes, including Russia,
Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia Burma, Myanmar, Philippines, etc. Japan
basically started building an Asian “NATO” against a soviet like China.This has no teeth, however because most of
these nations has no military that can compete with China.China wanted to see where the US stood with
this development, as the stance of the US greatly affects the efficacy of this
coalition and would dictate its foreign policy in the region.The fact that this military exercise is going
on in California is basically saying the US has these countries backs.

Tempest is Sushi Green Tea Pot. Get a life if this offends you. The Japanese are on their knees struggling to survive. What they did in WWII is nothing compared to what the U.S. did. Any takers I will wrangle with.

@Rototime And we will never understand, because the Japanese are rewriting history. You read what the Japanese girl wrote, she and they will not own up to their history. I have respect for the German people, they took ownership of their history and never went down that path again.

@MichaelChristyUSA committed a lot of crimes as well back then. Killing Native Indians, killing each other to what we now call the United States of America. USA is ALWAYS in every war battle there ever is on Earth... and you're saying that Japan committed many atrocities against China? LOL China has been invading, and slaughtering people for centuries and is still doing it even now (to Bhutan and Nepal). The Korean peninsula as well and you blame all of those "problems" in Asia done by Japan? lol.. You're just jealous of Japan right? We have good quality cars, technology, and stuff.

Either way, that so called massacre is a fake. There is NO evidence at all. Even many Northern Chinese told me that Nanking massacre never happened, but there are also many Northern Chinese who said that Japan was there during the "Nanking" massacre, but it wasn't Japanese soldiers who did the killing. There were also many Koreans in the Japanese military (since many Koreans immigrated to Japan before WW2) and they were the ones who did it (Northern Chinese, near the Korean border, could easily tell the difference between Koreans and Japanese attitude, while the central and southern Chinese couldn't tell.) However, There was a massacre thingie but it was before Japan even started modernizing, or in your words, ruling China. There were MANY foreign scientists (not just Japan), who wanted to examine the so called bodies and remains from the massacre supposedly caused by Japan. and their (China's) answer? NO. LOL if it was really true, they would want everyone to know that it really happened and would gladly show the proof. However, since it is a lie, they reject others, even USA, from studying it more.

By the way, if Japan was so evil, how come there are many amazing stories of Japan helping others? Taiwanese were able to sleep with their front doors unlocked when Japan was occupying Taiwan, but when Red China came back since Japan lost the war, they had to lock up again and had to deal with weird people opening up shops on their driveways (A.K.A. home invaders). Indonesians were free from some other country (forgot which one) because Japan came and won their war. Turkey too, was being invaded by Soviet, but when Japan came and won the war, they were free. There was also Sugihara Chiune, who hand wrote visas for Jews (refugees) from Poland, even though Japan was on Germany's side. There's MUCH more but it's too much to write on here.

Anyway, you can believe whatever you want to believe, but right now, without Japan, USA and the rest of the world would be communist countries. Even president Roosevelt finally realized that after WW2 ended, that without Japan, everyone would not have much freedom like today (maybe technology and awesome stuff too lol). That is one reason why Japan is keeping the Senkaku islands. It's a good border to keep China from invading the world. So this is why USA needs to back up their allied country, Japan, not just for my country's sake (Japan), but also for USA and the world's sake.. well, most of the world at least.

So be happy. If you're a communist though, then I have nothing to say. If you're not though, please stop looking at the past, blaming Japan for everything, and be happy that you have freedom, and could at least view youtube, FB, and other sites that communist countries can't really view. Oh yes, and you won't be killed by complaining to the communist party that you hate their guts. Be grateful. Good day.

@don'tforget Ike made his warning at the beginning of his first term, the end of his last, and I don't know how many times in between. Guess which President oversaw the establishment of a permanent large scale MIC during peacetime. Ike.

Please don't mention Japan and Germany side by side for it is a grave insult and injustice against the Germans.

After WWII, the Germans have banned the Nazi party, prosecuted their war criminals, given up disputed territories, made large restitution, educated their young of past wrongdoings and forsake any renewed attempt at military conquests; the Japanese have done the exact opposite. The Japanese equivalent to Hitler was left in charge until his natural death. The counterpart to Goering is being worshiped in a "heroes' tomb". Japanese continue to deny all the atrocities ever happened. Their young are educated to believe that a peaceful Japan was bombed by brutal American invaders. The politicians call the forced Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese sex slaves "volunteers".

Please don't compare Japan with Germany. There is no country on earth as shameless as Japan.

You are a nice girl, but you are in denial. Even the German SS was freaked out about Japanese actions. Own up to it and start the healing process. You are correct about America, many terrible things were done here, and abroad. I believe most Americans know, and are trying to make amends (somewhat). The wheels of justice turn slowly. I think you are overselling your technology, and I really don't think Japan could stop China from doing anything. My only point is Japan needs to settle their problem with China on their own, don't drag the US into it. In the end we are both powerless to say one way or the other. The answer is no, I am not jealous of Japan.

@MichaelChristy@FreedomIsEssential Yet the USA is discovering that a COMMUNIST CHINA's goods are good to have and that all the jobs in USA they sent away to China just stregthened CHINA'S COMMUNIST (BALLOON) PARTY. How's that for the Idiot American fighting communism for 50 years and then succumbing to it? Now USA is a half-assed communist country as well.